US President Barack Obama announced today that he will withdraw all US forces from Iraq by the end of the year, nearly nine years after the US invasion and after more than 4,400 US deaths.

"Today I can report that, as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year. After nearly nine years, America's war in Iraq will be over," Obama said at the White House.

Obama made the announcement after holding a video conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, and the failure of talks between the two sides to agree on keeping a small number of troops in Iraq after the end of 2011.

His commitment represented the fulfillment of a central promise of his 2008 election campaign, and comes as Washington seeks to also draw down the size of its garrison in Afghanistan.

The talks broke down because the two sides were unable to agree on granting legal immunity for a small contingent of American troops who would have stayed in place to help train Iraqi forces and to counter the influence of Iran.

Despite the disagreement, Obama said US troops will leave Iraq "with their heads held high, proud of their success."

"The United States is moving forward to a position of strength. The long war in Iraq will come to an end by the end of this year. The transition in Afghanistan is moving forward and our troops are finally coming home," Obama said.

The 39,000 remaining US troops in Iraq must withdraw by the end of the year under an accord between the two countries.

Obama said that he had invited Maliki to visit the White House in December, as the two sides revert to a normal sovereign relationship between two nations.